January / February 2026 Newsletter
Jan/Feb 2026 Newsletter - Supporting Strategies to Help Women Succeed
at the Backgammon Table
What works to help women succeed at the backgammon table? The 2022 WWB-Backgammon Galaxy Survey of online backgammon players provided valuable clues that continue to shape our funding priorities. The Survey found that intimidation was the number one factor standing in the way of women playing in tournaments.
It also showed that online women players were as enthusiastic as men about playing backgammon, with half of women and men playing daily and most of the rest several times a week. Where they differed was that women were far more likely to rate their skill at the novice or intermediate level. Seventy percent of women and men were eager to learn and improve their game, but women were more likely to find coaching or personal help a better way to learn than YouTube or eXtreme Gammon.
These insights have been underscored by the views and actions of women playing in tournaments or participating in activities offered by WWB over the last three years. What seems to account for the dramatic growth in women in competitive backgammon over this time largely boils down to the opportunity to play in a supportive environment, gaining confidence in their skills, and visibility or recognition for their achievement. The slogan “if you can't see it, you can't be it” captures the importance of seeing more top-level women players over the board, women leading learning sessions, and women providing insightful remarks at the commentating table.
In 2026, the WWB will continue to support these strategies, continuing successful initiatives and experimenting with new promising activities.
Playing Opportunities
While initially controversial, women's-only events are now an established part of the competitive backgammon scene. They provide a protected space for women to be able to focus on playing, learning, and receiving recognition. At the same time, women are using their new-found confidence to play in mainstream events and stepping up to the next level of competition.
Women's International Individual and Team Championships
WWB will continue to support women's worldwide individual and team championship events. Specifically, in 2026 WWB will be a sponsor of the Women's World Championship in Monte Carlo and ensure that the format of the event is upgraded and the final streamed.
As it has in the past, WWB will contribute to uniforms for the U.S. women's team at the in-person team event sponsored by the World Backgammon Federation in London and assist with marketing and disseminating results.
ABT Women's U.S. Championship and Cup Events
WWB will contribute to the U.S. Women's Championship held in conjunction with the Chicago Open, donating a WWB Backgammon Board to the winner.
WWB will provide jackets with the WWB logo to the winner of all American Backgammon Tour Women's Cup events.
In addition WWB will provide added money and/or transcription/recording/streaming services to six ABT WWB Cup events.
Gaining Confidence and Skill - Peer Coaching
In 2026 the WWB will continue its WWB Peer Coaching program and encourage its spread to additional countries. It is testing an online mini-tournament event for participants coupled with a learning session that highlights examples of “brilliancies” or great moves and “blunders” drawn from matches.
Backgammon Buddy
In 2025 WWB provided a learning session with two top U.S. women playing a consulting doubles match against eXtreme Gammon as a way of demonstrating how women might train for upcoming tournaments. In 2026 it will experiment with different strategies of helping pairs of “backgammon buddies” train together.
Offering Recognition and Raising Visibility
WWB Invitational
For the second year, sixteen of the top women players in the world are competing in a WWB Invitational Cup. This year the format has been upgraded from single elimination to a modified-Swiss format with women playing 11-point matches until they have two losses. Matches are being streamed in real-time, many with expert commentary, or recorded and posted on the WWB YouTube channel. WWB is providing $1000 in added money to the top finishers.
U.S. Woman Player of the Year
For the first time WWB will identify a U.S. Woman Player of the Year who has achieved excellence in competitive backgammon – whether in worldwide competition, Backgammon Masters Awarding Body (BMAB) events, or national tournament play. The Player of the Year will receive a WWB backgammon board.
BMAB
The WWB will also recognize all women who achieve a Grandmaster or Masters rating from the BMAB with a personalized doubling cube. Currently 11 women hold Masters status. Will 2026 be the year when women break the glass ceiling and make it to the Grandmaster level?
Newsletter, Social Media, and WWB Website
In 2026, WWB anticipates a major upgrading of its website and social media outreach, with greater emphasis on hosting WWB tournaments, marketing women's events, and highlighting women player achievements.
Support WWB
WWB is a nonprofit organization with modest resources provided by its Inner Circle of Sponsors and the financial contributions and professional volunteer efforts of its Board. It's a labor of love. We'd like to thank, especially, those of you who have generously donated to WWB. We simply couldn't do what we do without you.
We try to leverage our resources by encouraging and supporting others sharing a common interest in seeing women thrive – including worldwide and national organizations, tournament directors and organizers, men and women coaches and playing partners sharing their expertise, and the community of women players. We welcome your ideas, participation, and support as we move forward together.
Welcome to Kristin Westerman!
Kristin is a lifelong backgammon player who jumped into national and international competition in 2025—and quickly fell in love not just with the game at the highest levels, but with the people and community around it. In her very first year on the circuit, she reached a longtime dream: competing in the World Championship Intermediate division, where she placed 3rd out of 84 players and took home a Bronze medal.
That capped off a standout year on the American Backgammon Tour, including:
Cherry Blossom: tied for 2nd in Advanced
Atlanta Spring Classic: 1st in the Juniors event
Charlotte: 1st in Consolation of the WWB Cup
St. Louis Gateway: 1st in the Whittenburg Intermediate Challenge Overflow
Inspired by how welcoming and competitive the tournament scene felt, Kristin dove into growing the game at the local level. She now runs the Nashville Backgammon Association and, combining her love of backgammon with her love for her city, set out to bring a major national tournament to Nashville. The result: the Music City Backgammon Open, coming September 23–27, 2026—a destination event that truly reflects the spirit, hospitality, and fun of Music City.
Outside of backgammon, Kristin leads Higher Focus Media, a lead management and appointment-setting agency that blends live agents, voice AI, and smart automations to help small businesses turn prospects into clients.
We're thrilled to have Kristin on the WWB Board and can't wait to see the impact she'll make as WWB continues to grow.
These developments tell a clear story: women’s backgammon is growing—not as a side initiative, but as an integral force shaping the future of the game.
Inside the UK Peer Coaching Program: How a Small Idea Turned into a Big Win
Merrin Rose and Melanie Hughes
One of the most energizing developments in 2025 has been the quiet but powerful growth of the UK peer coaching program—an initiative that perfectly captures what Women's World of Backgammon is all about: learning together, building confidence, and creating community through the game we love.
What started modestly in September has grown quickly and organically. The program planned to launch with five coaches, but initial demand exceeded expectations and required a quick expansion to seven, all drawn from the UK Women's Team. Today, 40 women are participating as coachees, divided into small, consistent groups—no more than six per coach. The structure is intentional: the same women meet together each session, allowing trust, familiarity, and shared learning to develop over time.
Each coach runs one session per month, meeting their group for two hours at a time that works for them. Sessions take place on Heroes, using a five-point consultation match with no clock. Two players take turns playing (not as a team), while the rest of the group observes, discusses decisions, and explores alternatives together. If the match isn't finished during the session, the two players simply complete it later— keeping the focus on learning rather than rushing.
Communication and coordination happen through WhatsApp, which has made it easy to stay connected, share reminders, and keep the tone relaxed and supportive. Importantly, the program is accessible: not everyone has eXtreme Gammon, and that hasn't been a barrier. The emphasis is on discussion, reasoning, and shared insight rather than tools alone.
That said, the group is beginning to think more intentionally about tracking progress. There's growing interest in finding a meaningful way to monitor PRs over time—not as a competitive metric, but as a way for participants to see their own development and stay motivated. How exactly that will be done is still evolving, but the appetite for it is there.
What's perhaps most impressive is how the program has grown: entirely by word of mouth. Women tell other women. Confidence spreads. Curiosity follows. That organic momentum says a lot about how valuable participants find the experience.
The UK group is also looking outward, expressing interest in the Blast format and in joining broader WWB learning sessions. Julia Hayward and Merrin Rose are now included on the WWB peer coaching email updates, and participants are warmly encouraged to opt in themselves via a Google form. There's no pressure—women are welcome to simply show up, listen, and learn.
Julia Hayward
Merrin Rose
Remarkably, the experience in the UK and the US has been surprisingly similar. Women in the groups have bonded, and the camaraderie, development of friendships among participants, and enjoyment in learning together are palpable. Participating women are starting to compete in national and regional tournaments, sharing information about tournaments they plan to attend, and
supporting each other.
This program may not make headlines, but it's doing something even more important: creating a safe, consistent space where women can think out loud, ask questions, and grow together. Sometimes, that's where the real
transformation begins.
Creating Connections: The WWB Peer Coaching Tournament – January 31, 2026
Thirty-two women from 15 U.S States, Czechia, England, France, Hungary, Norway, and Scotland competed in the WWB Peer Coaching Tournament played January 31, 2026, on the Heroes Backgammon Studio server.
The free online tournament, intended as an opportunity to create and grow connections among women players, was open to women of all skill levels. The event included three rounds of 7-point matches played by all 32 participants. Participants included Peer Coaching members and coaches from both the U.K. and U.S. WWB Peer Coaching programs, as well as women who heard about it from other women. Three women who have achieved Master class status in the Backgammon Masters Awarding Body were among the players.
Players with 3-0 Win-Loss records included: Julia Hayward (UK); Antoinette-Marie Williams (US); Nicole Coleman (UK); Karen Davis (US); and Karen Slawek (UK). Of those with 3 wins, Julia Hayward had the best average Performance Rating (based on analysis by eXtreme Gammon World Class) of 6.74, followed closely by Antoinette Marie-Williams PR of 7.30. Arezou Shafiei had the best PR in an individual match of 1.90 against Candace Mayeron. Eva Zizkova (Czechia) had a PR of 3.44 in a match against Antoinette.
Julia Hayward won a backgammon jewelry prize created, produced, and donated by participant Augusta Lorber, a Palm Beach (FL) player known both for her skill over-the-board and her prowess as a master jewelry designer.
Those with 2-1 records included: Alex Ward (UK); Shof Miah (UK); June Williamson (UK); Arezou Shafiel (FR); and Eva Zizkova (CZ). US players included: Christine Chase (CT); Jennifer Zorek-Pressman (CT); Anne Major (TX); Maggie Sweeney (MI) and Amy Latek (WI).
Stephanie Blackton (VA), Associate Director of the WWB Peer Coaching Program, ably directed the online event.
“Brilliancies and Blunders” that occurred in matches by Antoinette Marie-Williams and Eva Zizkova as well as a match between Julia Hayward and Ranbir Bains (UK) was presented at a Peer Coaching ZOOM session on Friday February 13th at 6 pm Eastern US time. The session was recorded and posted on the
Interested women who wish to attend can request a ZOOM link by sending an email to [email protected]. The session will be recorded and posted on the WWB YouTube channel.
Women's Events: Growing in Popularity and Prestige
Women's events are increasingly being taken seriously – with formats attracting strong women players and gaining prestige both for the events and the winners. Especially notable results or updates on progress are summarized briefly below.
Texas Backgammon Cup/UBC Contender
Amazing endurance performance of Irina Litzenberger (VA) who won the Texas Championship Last Chance in a field of 158 entrants, defeating Grandmaster Victor Ashkenazi (USA) in the semi-final and Grandmaster Petko Kostadinov in the final of the Last Chance. Carmen Tomlinson (TX) won the Texas Women's Open Jackpot defeating Karen Davis (FL) in the final. Karen was the only woman competing in the Americas Ultimate Backgammon Contender, earning a 5.54 PR.
Gibraltar January 28-February 1
Marianne Snarheim Husum (Norway) was on a roll at the Gibraltar Backgammon Championship. She won the Ladies Event in a field of 32 women, as well as the Intermediate Division in a field of 43 players and finished 3rd/4th in the Doubles with Dagfinn Husum Snarheim. Khatuna Giorgobiani, captain of the Georgian women's team had a great tournament as well, winning the DMP event; winning the Double Consultation with backgammon partner Alexey Chanturidze (Georgia); placing 4th5th in the Intermediate division; and 3rd/4th in the
Seniors Overflow event.
Marianne Husum
Lady Liberty Cup, New York Metro January 15-19, 2026
Karen Davis won the Lady Liberty Cup Championship division, facing Women's World Champion (2024) Maggie Diamantidis (Greece/California) in the final. Liz Granstedt (Sweden) won the Lady Liberty Cup Intermediate division, defeating Dina Laksourier (NY) in the final. Women did well in some of the mixed events as well: Melissa Shin (CA) placed third in the Liberty Cup Masters Jackpot; and Karen Davis tied for second in the prestigious New York Players Cup BMAB. Sarah Upbin (NY) and her backgammon partner Doron Cloxon (South Africa) placed second in the Doubles I event; while Karen Davis and her backgammon partner Tony Wuersch placed second in the Doubles II event.
Maggie Diamantidis & Karen Davis
Liz Granstedt
WBIF Women's World Championship July 2025 - February 2026
The WBIF Women's World Championship is drawing to a close. At this point Khatuna Giorgobiani (Georgia), Sara Yousefi (Iran), Marina Milos (Brazil), and Pernille Rosendal (Denmark) are still in contention for first. Maggie Sweeney (USA) is fifth. Tied for 6th/9th are Kara Schultz (USA), Yuko Sugimoto (Japan), and Martha Gjelseth (Norway).
Khatuna Giorbaniani with Arda
WWB Invitational Cup January 1-March 8, 2026
This year's cup is rolling, we are almost done with round 3!
Stay alert for last minute invites to zoom sessions with commentary on selected matches or to follow the matches on Heroes - tournament room: WWB CUP
Pairings and current standings available on moreswiss.com
Winning Women Around the World
Women are increasingly placing in national and international events.
Women placing in events in mid- December 2025 to mid-February include:
ABT: TEXAS BACKGAMMON CHAMPIONSHIPS / UBC CONTENDER (preliminary results)
February 3-8, 2026; San Antonio, Texas
ABT GEOFFREY PARKER CHAMPIONSHIP (110+48 rebuys): 1LC-Irina Litzenberger (VA),
ABT INTERMEDIATE DIVISION (57+15 rebuys): 2C-Mona Mazza (CA), 2LC-Jeanna Kish (TX).
ALAMO CLASSIC LIMITED JACKPOT (48): 3-Tiffany Van (TX)
PLAYERS CUP SAN ANTONIO BMAB (40): 4/10-Lynda Clay (CO)
WOMEN'S OPEN JACKPOT (32): 1-Carmen Tomlinson (TX), 2-Karen Davis (FL), 3/4-Carol Joy Cole (MI) / Candace Mayeron (CA).
NOVICE CHAMPIONSHIP (22): 1C-Kristina Grim (Germany).
SAN ANTONIO CINCO DOUBLES (48 teams): 1-Leslie Lockett (IL) & Kit Woolsey (CA), 4/6- Richard Munitz (NY) & Olivia Upbin (NY) / Kara Schulz (CA) & Jonah Seewald (CO).
SPEEDGAMMON (48): 2-Lynda Clay (CO),
$100 JACKPOT (8): 1/2 split-Ray Fogerlund (NV) / Sarah Upbin (NY).
$50 JACKPOT (8): 1-Jennifer Kim (CA),
$50 JACKPOT (8): 2-Sarah Upbin (NY).
EAST KENT WINTER OPEN
January 31, 2026; Canterbury, United Kingdom
MAIN: 2-Catherine Thome
CONSOLATION: 1-Hannah Parente
SLAM: 9th GIBRALTAR BACKGAMMON CHAMPIONSHIP
January 28-February 1, 2026; Marina Bay, Gibraltar
INTERMEDIATE (43): 1-Marianne Snarheim Husum (Norway), 2-Laurence Sinitzky (France), 4/5-Khatuna Giorgobiani (Georgia) / Beverley Phillips (United Kingdom).
DOUBLE CONSULTATION (32 teams): 1-Alexey Chanturidze (Georgia) & Khatuna Giorgobiani (Georgia), 3/ 4-Marianne Snarheim Husum (Norway) & Dagfinn Husum Snarheim (Norway).
OVERFLOW SENIORS (32): 3/4- Khatuna Giorgobiani (Georgia).
LADIES (32): 1-Marianne Snarheim Husum (Norway), 2-Sarah Jolliff (United Kingdom), 3/4-Mari Cruz Lis (Spain) / Beverley Phillips (United Kingdom).
DMP CHALLENGE –3/4-Khatuna Giorgobiana (Georgia)
ARTGAMMON GIB CHALLENGE (32): 3/4- C.J. Uttley (United Kingdom).
ABT: 19th NEW YORK METROPOLITAN BACKGAMMON OPEN
January 15-19, 2026; Jersey City, New Jersey
ADVANCED BEGINNER (71): 2-Alanna Curet (NY), 3/4- Leda Rosenthal (NY); 1C-Grace Zweig (CT), 2LC-Karen Janowsky (NY).
BEGINNER (37): 11LC-Jennifer Evans (Canada).
LIBERTY CUP MASTERS (64): 3/4- Melissa Shin (CA).
LADY LIBERTY CUP – CHAMPIONSHIP (16): 1-Karen Davis (FL), 2-Maggie Diamantidis (Greece/CA).
LADY LIBERTY CUP – INTERMEDIATE (32): 1-Liz Granstedt (Sweden), 2-Dina Laksiouer (NY), 3/4-Karen Janowsky (NY) / Anastacia Shimek (PA).
SENIORS TOURNAMENT (64): 1-Molly Anderson (NM)
SENIORS OVERFLOW (24): 1/3-Carol Joy Cole (MI)
YOUNG & RESTLESS OVERFLOW (24): 1/3-Lina Laksiouer (Canada)
NEW YORK DOUBLES TOURNAMENT (64 teams): 2-Doron Claxton (South Africa) & Sarah Upbin (NY), 3/4-Brian Cohen (NY) & Debra Solomon (NY)
NEW YORK DOUBLES TOURNAMENT II (24 teams): 2-Karen Davis (FL) & Tony Wuersch (MA), 3-Anca Morar (RI) & Joseph Syta (NY).
NEW YORK PLAYERS CUP BMAB (48): 2/9-Karen Davis (FL) PR winners: 9-Karen Davis (FL) at 5.82.
BREEZY BRIGHTON OPEN
January 10-11, 2026; Brighton, United Kingdom
MASTERS (61): 8/13-Becca Bell
INTERMEDIATES (62): 1-Hannah Parente, 8/13-Liz Giannopoulos, 2C-Catherine Seale
FAREWELL TO BRIGHTON: 1-Ann Pocknell
WORCESTER TURKEY BACKGAMMON TOURNAMENT
December 29, 2025; Worcester, England
TURKEYS CROWN (60): 5/8-Merrin Rose, 1C-Anna Price,
CHICKS (Intermediates) (32): 1-Ranbir Bains, 3/4- Alex Ward; 5/8-Shof Miah / Ruth Flack / Angela Fendley / Maria Ferguson; 1C-Michelle Sykes, 2C-Diane Turner. 3/4C-Jackie Spring, 5/8C-Joanna Foster
TBT - 39th ISTANBUL REGIONAL BACKGAMMON CHAMPIONSHIP - WBF
December 26-28, 2025; Istanbul, Türkiye
"BALIM AYASLI MEMORIAL" LADIES PRIZE (8): 1-Gözde Diptas, 2-Gülderen Gücavli.
"MEHMET KOCAOGLU MEMORIAL" TRADITIONAL (36): 1-Zafer Önder, 2-Mehmet Polat, 3-Metin Tatlidil, 4-Mahir Kasuto.
SWING (67): 1-Gözde Diptas,
COPENHAGEN CHRISTMAS BACKGAMMON TOURNAMENT
December 27, 2025; Hellerup, Denmark
MAIN (69): 1-Katrine Pawlik, 1C-Ingrid Söderstjerna (Sweden),
SUPER JACKPOT (8): 2-Pia Jeppesen.
FMBGT: SUPER FINAL 2025
December 19-21, 2025; Istanbul, Türkiye
OPEN (116): 15-Maya Peycheva (Bulgaria)
UKBGT - PLAYERS BACKGAMMON CHAMPIONSHIP 2025
December 13-14, 2025; London, United Kingdom
MASTERS (79): 1-Anna Price, 3-Julia Hayward, 3/4LC Merrin Rose
INTERMEDIATES (64): 3/4- Yas Turan; 3/4C Catherine Thome, 5/8C Hannah Parente, 5/8LC Sue Perks/Kimberley Ong
TOUR WINNERS INVITATIONAL
January 17/18, 2026; Macclesfield, United Kingdom
MASTERS (16): 1LC-Merrin Rose
INTERMEDIATES (16): 3/4C-Jay Hayter
2025 UK Tour (total points accumulated across all qualifying events):
MASTERS (256): 8-Merrin Rose
INTERMEDIATES (193): 3-Jay Hayter, 12-Hannah Parente
2025 US Players Cup Woman of the Year
Melissa Shin
2026 Norway BMAB-21
Hanna Thorsen PR 3.63 – Dmitriy Obukhov, VP of BMAB remarked:» I am not aware of any female player who played better than this in a BMAB event.»
Upcoming Events
January – April 2026, WWB Invitational Cup; online on Heroes.BackgammonStudio.com
Match notices posted on
https://www.facebook.com/womensworldofbackgammon
February 26, Players Cup Atlanta, KImpton Overland Hotel
February 26-Mar 1, 16th Atlanta Classic, Kimpton Overland Hotel, Atlanta Ga, Jonathan Hardigree, Director, 678-720-6161
April 14-18, 8th Merit Grand Prix, Splendid, Budva, Montenegro, [email protected], director
Ladies Tournament, 17 April 13:00
https://www.wbfturkey.com/doc/etkinlik/montenegro2026/montenegro2026flyer.pdf
April 15-19 Cherry Blossom Championship, Hyatt Dulles, Herndon, VA Ben Friesen, Director 810-348-1695
WWB Cup starts Thursday 4/16 at 4 pm
https://cherryblossombackgammon.weebly.com/
April 30-May 3 Charlotte Invitational, Hilton, Charlotte NC, Paul Horton Director, 704-651-2949
WWB Cup starts Sunday May 3, 1:30 pm
https://www.charlottebackgammon.com/home
May 20-25 Chicago Open, Hyatt Centric O'Hare, Rosemont, IL, Rory Pascar, Director 617-699-9100
Women's National Championship begins May 21 at 3:00 pm
June 3-7 Wild West Shootout Embassy Suites, Denver, CO, Dan Minardi, Director 303-356-3679
Recent WWB YouTube Videos
WWB Invitational Cup Matches Available at https://www.youtube.com/@WomensWorldOfBackgammon/playlists
Round 2:
Melissa Shin v Martha Gjelseth
Kara Schultz v Cecilia Rogers
Akiko Yazawa v Merrin Rose
Pia Jeppesen v Hanna Thorsen
Katja Sophie Svendsen v Gulderen Gucavli
Eva Zizkova v Miranda Moulton
Round 1:
Miranda Moulton v Maya Peycheva
Merrin Rose v Pia Jeppensen
Melissa Shin v Katja Sophie Svendsen
Gulderen Gucavli v Karen Davis
Martha Gjelseth v. Akiko Yazawa
Eva Zizkova v. Kara Schultz
WWB Learning Sessions
Irina Litzenberger and Kara Schultz discussed played checker and cube decisions as they played a 7-point match Consulting Doubles match against the neural net software eXtreme Gammon on October 24, 2025. It illustrates how players preparing for a major backgammon tournament can study with a backgammon buddy partner to sharpen their game. The YouTube video of their live commentary can be found on the Women's World of Backgammon YouTube channel.
Two of Europe's top women players: Laura Monaco (Italy) and Merrin Rose (UK) played in the Fifth Round of the European/South African Regional WBIF Women's World Championship) on Saturday September 6, 2025.
Melissa Shin and Julia Hayward are expert commentators.
Karen Davis and Antoinette-Marie Williams played in the fifth round of the Americas regional qualifier of the Women's World Championship on Monday September 8, 2025.
Denise Kaiser and Irina Litzenberger are expert commentators.
Additional Informational Sessions:
WWB Special Learning Session with Michy Kageyama – Improving Your Cube Decision Skills
Premiered July 18, 2025
WWB Learning Session – Playing eXtreme Gammon to Improve Your Game with Steve Sax
April 18, 2025
WWB Learning Session – Using Anki Flashcards to Improve
April 11, 2025
Recent WWB YouTube Videos
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